IceHogs News

Rockford, Ill.- After only being shut out three times in the first 72 games of the 2009-10 season, the IceHogs are blanked for the second time in three games. This time it came at the hands of goalie Drew MacIntyre and the Chicago Wolves on Saturday at the Rockford MetroCentre.
"We had a lot of chances," said right wing Jack Skille. "From what I saw, I thought we had a good effort. Some people may not agree with that, but we saw a lot of opportunites to score."

Matt Anderson scored his 15th goal of the season when he picked up a loose puck and flipped it over Corey Crawford at 1:27 of the first period. Arturs Kulda and Jason Krog were credited with the assists.

Then Chicago added one more on an Ivan Vishnevskly's blast. With the Wolves on the power play, Matt Anderson dished the puck to Vishnevskly, who fired it to the back of the net from the blue line to put Chicago up 2-0 at 9:29 in the second period.

Spencer Machacek scored his 19th goal of the season on the power play at the 17:14 mark of the third period. Krog chipped in his second assist on the night, along with Johnny Pohl.

"They had a lot of power plays and we did a great job of killing them except that last one," said Skille. "Krog made a great dish. He's a highly skilled player and you have to expect that."

The IceHogs peppered MacIntyre with 33 shots on goal, but the Chicago goaltender was perfect to pick up his 20th win on the season.

"You can't control how many great saves the goalie is going to make," said Skille. "You just have to worry about getting the puck to the net. We had a couple of back door chances that didn't go in. When those chances aren't going in and the goalie is making great saves, it makes it a lot harder."

Crawford was tagged with the loss, after turning away 18 of 21 shots on goal. Chicago was 2-for-5 on the man advantage, while the IceHogs could not score on five opportunities. The team has now lost two straight on Jersey Auction Night after winning eight of their first nine.

Next Home Game: Friday, April 2 vs. Lake Erie Monsters. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. The IceHogs open up their final home weekend of the 2009-10 regular season. The first 1,500 kids 14 and under will pick up an IceHogs Youth Hockey Stick courtesy of McDonalds and 97ZOK. Also, the first 1,500 fans to the game will receive a 2009-10 IceHogs Team Photo.